Lady Raider Excels On and Off the Basketball Court

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (BEASLEY) -- Middle Tennessee State University women’s basketball standout Ebony Rowe is recognized for her feats on the court, but Rowe is equally impressive when she steps off the hardwood.

Over the course of three years wearing the Blue Raider uniform, Rowe has averaged 17.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

As a result, she's already captured the interest of the Women’s National Basketball Association.

Rowe’s stats are all the more impressive when you learn that she's also carrying a full course load headed toward a degree in engineering. Rowe dreams of following her father and sister into the field

Rowe’s father, American Water Vice President Nick Rowe, says his daughter has known what she's wanted to do for quite sometime.

“She’s always kind of been a problem solver,” Nick Rowe said. “So as she kind of saw that field - and really got interested - we encouraged her.“

“He has been so supportive and he’s just gone out of his way,” Rowe said. “(If) I have a lab that meets when I have practice time, he’ll excuse me early from practice or (make) sure I always get my lectures taped so I can stay caught up.”

Rowe also credits her success to having learned some time management skills.

“You just got to debate on whether you stay up a little late trying to get a good grade on the test the next day or if you get a good nights rest because you play a big team the next day. So its just learning how to juggle your schedule,” Rowe said.

According to her father, Ebony understands she's a student first, and athlete second.

“She never reads a newspaper article. She doesn’t check her website for All-American. But she can tell you what every test grade is,” Nick Rowe said.

When asked how she wants her time at MTSU to be remembered, Rowe said she wants to be known for something more than her ability under the rim.

“I just want to say that I made an impact on someone’s life while I was here because - the awards and accolades, that’s all good and fine - but I feel like if you don’t make an impact on anyone, if no one likes you while you here, then it’s kind of a waste of time,” Rowe said.

Nick Rowe shares the same ambitions for his daughter.

“Our measuring stick for Ebony will not be how many records she has when she leaves Middle Tennessee. It will really be whether or not Middle Tennessee is better because Ebony came that way,” said Nick Rowe.

When Rowe’s undergraduate tenure at MTSU ends next May, she'll face one of the biggest decisions of her life: either stay in school to continue her pursuit of an engineering career, or continue playing basketball in the WNBA.

“Right now I’m so undecided. I’m going to keep that (WNBA) option open, but at the same time I look forward to pursuing my academic career after this,” said Rowe.

Rowe will return home to Lexington, Kentucky for the summer to intern in the physics lab for Lexmark International, a fortune 500 company. At the start of November, she'll begin her final year playing for the Blue Raiders.